Supreme Court’s Aadhaar Verdict Has Political Parties Claiming Personal Victory; Congress Might Move Apex Court Over Aadhaar Act

The verdict went 4-1 in favour of Aadhaar.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court verdict on Aadhaar, upholding its constitutional validity, was largely hailed on Wednesday. Coming from a five-judge bench, the verdict was 4-1 in favour of Aadhaar with Justice DY Chandrachud’s being the sole voice of dissent. Most political parties have also lauded the verdict. (Also read: Top Ten Takeaways From Verdict)

The BJP described the judgement as a big victory for the Modi government, saying the apex court had upheld its constitutional validity and asserted that it did not violate privacy. Party spokesperson Sambit Patra said the court had ruled that Aadhaar was safe. The verdict had also exposed the Congress, he claimed. The opposition party favoured middlemen while the Modi government brought Aadhaar to ensure that benefits are given directly to the people, he said. “We see it as a big victory of the Modi government, the pro-poor Modi government. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and has also said that it does not violate privacy,” Patra said.

The Congress welcomed the apex court’s decision to strike down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which allowed private parties to access the data, and termed it a “slap on the face of BJP”. The delinking of Aadhaar from private entities is a “slap on the face of BJP,” said Congress national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. His party colleague and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal said, “By striking down Section 57 of Aadhaar Act, the Supreme Court has firmly put an end to the mass surveillance exercise being carried out under the guise of Aadhaar by the Central Government and the grotesque distortion of an idea conceived by the UPA.” However, he added it would be a gross abuse of the Money Bill route and said, “We will approach a seven-judge bench to consider this verdict again as this is clearly not a Money Bill…If the government does not bring the Act to the Rajya Sabha for amendments, we will definitely move the Supreme Court.”

The Trinamool Congress has also hailed the verdict. In a tweet, the party said, “SC strikes down section 57 of Aadhaar Act, 2016. So you don’t need to give your Aadhaar to private bodies like banks, schools, mobile companies. Trinamool and @mamataofficial fought hard for this.”  Party MP Derek O’Brien said, “Mamata Banerjee had issued an open challenge on Aadhaar. Our stance has been vindicated. I’m glad the SC said what it said. On data privacy and data protection, that’s also something we need to take a close look at, so the BJP can’t make it into a policed state.”

Legal experts also lauded the verdict. While AG KK Venugopal, who had represented the Centre in the case, was obviously happy and said, “It is a landmark and remarkable judgement,” former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee was happy for a different reason. “I think on the whole it is a good judgement. Though personally, I am happy with Justice Chandrachud’s judgement striking it down on the ground that it bothers right to privacy,” he said. (With Agencies)